Reader Alice who travels the world at a ripe young age of 89, says ...

Hello Mish

It is wise always for professionals to stand aside from conspiracy theories, There is no sense compromising the future because the past misread the tea leaves.

Bernanke is doing what he was appointed to do....keep the money coming for the US Government to spend, thereby monetizing all expenditures no matter the purpose.

The growing call from citizens for some form of fiscal sanity is beyond the purlieu of the Fed. It never was established to settle accounts, or keep them within bounds.

The founder of modern international finance, Amschel Rothschild, gave the aims and direction of his enterprise simple instruction when he declared he cared not what governments did, all he wanted was the right to control, print their money. Governments took him at his word and his business grew exponentially so he must have been doing something right or as Lloyd Blankfein said "doing God's work!"

Bernanke knows Obamacare may be "defunded" and other excesses curbed, and he doesn't like that. His stewardship of the Fed is not to maintain status quo but to expand its power, its "credit" base worldwide, to continue the momentum his predecessors started. He doesn't have to curry favor with politicians, since they love to spend and he provides the means to do so across national borders and in all commodities sold worldwide. So long as that function maintains any semblance of order, the Fed goes on and on, gathering more followers in every year.

I would love to see a return to "sensible accounting" but I am hard pressed as to what constitutes "sensible" these days. When I began investing, one looked at the real property on balance sheets. In today's tech driven world, the definition of value is more cloudy than ever before, especially since all transactions and exchanges are literally fabricated from thin air and deposited in "The Cloud".

The third dimension is printing money as if it was a magic wand to create everyone's dream.

All I know is that when I travel the world, (and I do every year) I see people who have never lived so well in any other time in history, including the poor and downtrodden. I know the American Century has something to do with that but I also know the British Empire had almost the same effect in its time at bat and I am waiting to see what happens, progresses next.

Alas, I don't have much time to assay such things. At coming of age at 89, I may have to settle down here in Florida in my small villa and get reports second hand.

I do love your approach and you can be assured I will be reading you as you write.

Thank you,

Alice Maxwell

Moral Hazards

Reader Rick comments on the moral hazards of Fed policy.

Hi Mish

The title of Megan McArdle's article is "Banking Without Risk Is Impossible", yet she supports a policy that creates moral hazards. Instead of a system where both parties take a risk, one party is off the hook. This leads to bad lending policies because there are hardly any consequences to bad lending policies.

Rick

Indeed, as it stands banks are always bailed out at taxpayer expense, the very epitome of "moral hazard". In effect, the Fed encourages excess risk taking, and bubbles are the inevitable result.

True Meaning of Banking Safely

Reader Bruce pinged me with his thoughts on teaching his children the true meaning of "risk-free".

Hello Mish

I have tried to educate my children on this very subject. We as a family are working our way to being debt free.

This is the only way I can see to bank safely. We have purchased rental property, business property, and are in the process of paying off our last home. We are also building up a large cash reserve (aware that inflation takes it toll).

We also have gold reserves, and liquid assets.

Owning property free and clear, especially income property, gives one options that those with mortgages don't have.

Bruce

Thanks to all who wrote regarding fractional reserve lending (whether I commented or replied).

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